For many days this has weighed heavily on my mind and heart, and I’ve wanted to express my outrage at this abuse, yet knowing that if I did many would consider it nothing more than “Catholic bashing”.

Since the story initially broke, new information has come to light, and my conscious will not permit me to remain silent any longer. If what you are about to read upsets or offends you, that is not my intent. I am only seeking to call attention to the horrors being perpetrated by those who claim to be Christ’s representatives upon the earth.

So widespread is this scandal (it began as far back as 1947), that it has encompassed 54 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. For 71 years, nearly three quarters of a century, the Catholic Church has willingly and knowingly participated in the coverup of the most horrific sexual abuse of children in our time.

The grand jury * responsible for investigating internal church documents from these six dioceses revealed that more than 300 “predator priests” were ‘credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 child victims since 1947’.

Do NOT miss this key point: the incriminating document were from the Church’s own internal records!

More than 1000 child victims!

Upon learning of the unfathomable atrocities committed by these imposters of Christ, one has to ask: where is the outrage from America and the rest of the world?

Are we simply numb with disbelief? Are we so apathetic as to have nothing to say? Are we so gutless as to have no fight left in us, even for our own children?

Americans will riot in the streets over a decision made by a President they say they hate, yet the fact that over 1000 children have been raped, abused, impregnated, and threatened garners hardly a whimper from these same impassioned, hate spewing ‘pretenders of the American Way’.

Where are the organizers who are so quick to make a few well-placed phone calls to their millionaire backers and political lobbyists? Why don’t we see them marching on Washington demanding justice for these 1000+ victims of the most sinister cover up of child abuse ever documented?

I say again, where’s the outrage?

Perhaps if we had a separate #MeToo Movement for these sexual abuse victims more people would join in the protest!

Our precious children were sexually assaulted for over 71 years, and there is no collective outrage? Are we so brain washed that we willingly turn a blind eye to this because it was done by supposed members of the Clergy?

Is this because the evil was perpetrated and subsequently covered up by the Catholic Church? Is that why the story dropped off the evening news almost as soon as it appeared? Does our society live in fear of retribution from the Catholic Church, therefor we remain mute? Do we have a subconscious fear that if we speak up it will bring about another Inquisition?

You who cannot resist the opportunity to continually rail against the President, have you nothing to say about the documented facts of the Catholic Church sexually exploiting our children?

Oddly, when we hear that some sadistic monster is found to have been torturing and sexually abusing his victims, it is all the talk around water coolers, the evening news, and the internet.

Web sites, blogs, and forums are on fire with comments for weeks on end. Yet we remain strangely silent about one of the most evil, diabolical, systematic patterns of sexual abuse ever devised by humans.

Tragically, for a variety of reasons many of these cases will never be prosecuted. Whether the statute of limitations has run out, or the victim or the accuser has died, criminal justice will never come for many who thought the one place they would be safe was in the Church.

These lobbyists were retained, in part, to work on issues associated with “statute of limitations” and “timelines for commencing certain civil actions related to sex offenses.” In layman’s terms what this really means is that when it comes to protecting predator priests, money is no object.

What has been the official response from the Catholic Church? In his speech to the Irish Republic this weekend, the Pope said ‘he is ashamed of the Catholic Church’s failure to adequately address the “repellent crimes” of sex abuse by clergy.’

Nice sounding words that we’ve heard many times before. What he did not say however is perhaps more important than anything he did say. What he failed to do was offer a solution to this plague of abuse. He failed every single one of the abused.

In essence, the official response has been NOT MUCH.

Unless of course you consider deflecting the attention away from their own guilt by reminding their accusers that they too have a few skeletons in their closets, that is.

Attempting to deflect attention away from the unimaginable evil committed by predatory priests against more than 1000 children over seven decades, Cardinal Rivera sent a warning to those who would dare accuse “men of the church”.

To his credit, the good Cardinal did acknowledge that the accusations “make us feel bad and we want to improve.”

Wow. The sexual abuse, rape, and destruction of lives committed by supposed “men of the church” against innocent children makes them ‘feel bad’. They don’t want to talk about “problematic things” however.

Let me see if I understand this correctly. Cardinal Sergio Obeso Rivera acknowledges that some of the accusations are true, but wants to draw attention to the skeletons in the accusers closets instead, telling them they “should be ashamed”.

No true remorse. No indication of a need for repentance. No clear acknowledgement of guilt.

Just deflection.

The only thing I can think of more disgusting than this man’s reprehensible comments is that the faithful continue to support a diabolical system in which innocent children are fair game for an untold number of sexual predators dressed in priestly garb.

This, dear reader, is NOT the Church whose head is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And what of the Protestant,or Evangelical Church, where are the ‘protests’ from within the various denominations that make up this Church of between 400 million and one billion members?

Could it be that the deafening silence emanating from within the Protestant, Evangelical camp is because it is just as guilty as the Catholic church when it comes to its own patterns of sexual abuse? Or worse?

May God in His mercy open the eyes of the blind, and give them the courage to flee before another child has to endure years of unspeakable torment at the hands of these “men of the church”.

Ron

*I urge you to read as much as you can stomach of the 1300+ pages of the grand jury’s report linked above.

Recently I came across an article that talked about pastors filling in their church calendars for the new year. The gist of this article dealt with whether or not the items that made their calendars was real ministry or simply “busy work”.

It made for interesting reading, especially when one of the pastors posted a link to his calendar for everyone to see. Imagine my surprise when lo and behold nearly every day of the week was filled from early morning till late in the evening.

Everything from early morning Bible studies and Zumba classes, afternoon staff and business meetings, to evening choir practice and healthy cooking classes filled this church’s calendar.

Frankly, it was the busiest church calendar I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of them. At first glance one would be inclined to say that this church was very busy, and they certainly were. I couldn’t imagine them squeezing anything else into an already stuffed daily agenda.

There was something odd however about this church calendar. I couldn’t figure it out at first, but I couldn’t shake the notion that in spite of so many agenda items something was missing.

Then it hit me. There was something missing! In fact, I noticed two missing items. The first was that there was no time built into the calendar for corporate prayer. The second thing that I noticed missing was there was not one single event or activity geared toward anyone outside the four walls of the church!

As I studied this I was reminded of something that Jesus said to the church at Ephesus, one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation.

2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 “and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Revelation 2:2-4(NKJV). Emphasis mine

Lets look at these verses in detail because I think we might see ourselves in them.

Jesus recognized the works that the church had been doing. He called attention to their labor and patience, and how many of us can relate when it comes to having patience when doing the Lords work?

Jesus also mentioned the church’s disdain for those who practiced evil. All of us understand this don’t we? We are trying to live a Godly life in the midst of a perverse and increasingly evil society, and it’s only going to become more challenging.

He goes on to list several more very positive attributes of the church at Ephesus, leaving no doubt that He knew this church intimately. Hmmm…do you suppose Jesus knows the church you attend in such intimate detail?

At first glance this church could be the model for all other churches in the area. Things were going good, and I imagine there was quite a buzz about all the wonderful things the church at Ephesus was doing.

But, and there’s always a but, right? There was a problem in the church, a problem so important that Jesus couldn’t let it slide without calling their attention to it.

It all began with the word “nevertheless”. Just hearing the word sends thoughts of “uh oh, here it comes” to our minds. Even after all of the praise Jesus gave the church, there was a “nevertheless” that cast a dark shadow on what was an otherwise glowing report.

Nevertheless, he said, this church had lost their first love.

Ouch!

What does this mean, to have lost your first love? It means that the church at Ephesus no longer loved the Lord with the same level of intensity they once had. Their passionate love for Jesus had been replaced by something else.

They had lost their zeal for Christ. Typically when this happens, we just go through the motions of serving God. Our heart is no longer motivated by the love of Jesus, we become content to do as many good works as we can, placing our trust in the deeds themselves rather than Jesus.

Ask me how I know this!

Do you know what this is called? It’s called RELIGION, and it ceases to be about a relationship with Christ. The church at Ephesus abandoned their first love in exchange for cold, formal, impersonal RELIGION.

This is the same poison that has infected the Church today. The poison of RELIGION has suffocated the once fervent relationship she had with Christ. This is why there is such apathy in the pew today. We have supplanted relationship with form, with rules, with do’s and dont’s.

But it doesn’t have to be like this! There’s more to the story! In the next verse, Jesus gave the church at Ephesus an “out”. He told them to REPENT. That’s right, simply REPENT.

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Rev. 2:5 KJV

I believe that this is the message for the Church today. Remember where we came from, acknowledge we have strayed, repent and get going again.

Return to the love of Jesus, then watch how much impact our works will have on the world around us!

Recently, I happened upon an online discussion about abortion. A key hot button of the discussion was that several of the more conservative participants kept referring to abortion as murder, while those from a more liberal perspective felt that using such a strong word demonstrated a lack of wisdom and compassion.

It didn’t take long before the gloves came off and the participants seemed to forget that they were on a Christian site. In short order, it got ugly. Real ugly. Words were said that certainly did not reflect the love of Christ. Feelings were hurt, and in the end nothing changed except for the fact that yet another wedge was driven between brothers and sisters in Christ.

All of which left me wondering about something. Do we not understand that the enemy excels at getting us to focus more on the things that divide us, rather than the things that bind us together? It seems that we Christians are so naive and gullible that we take the bait and swallow it before we ever have the first inkling as to what Satan is up to!

Am I the only person who thinks this way? Are the differences between us so insurmountable that even Jesus cannot bridge the gap?

Abortion has been one of the tools that Satan uses to cause division in the Church ever since it became the law of the land. Of course, he has many other tools at his disposal, but because abortion is one of those topics that people on both sides of the fence are incredibly opinionated about, it’s easy for the enemy to use it to sow discord among the brethren.

Whether you agree with abortion or not isn’t really the issue any longer. I don’t agree with it, nor do I believe it is a “right”, but then again I (unapologetically) tend to look at life through the lens of Scripture. This puts me at odds with a great many things taking place in our world today, not just abortion.

Obviously, many people, and that includes Christians, would object to my rather simplistic approach to this subject, and I have no problem with that. I happen to believe that God’s family is much larger than some of us believe it to be, and as such there is plenty of room for Christians who believe differently than I do. Insert 😊

Therefore, knowing that abortion is here to stay, is our best course of action to berate and condemn those who have an abortion, or has God called us to a higher purpose? Are we to continue down the path of division, or should we be seeking God for wisdom in how best to minister to those affected by abortion?

How would Jesus respond to the divisive issue of abortion? And of even greater importance, what would be His response to those who have had an abortion? I believe we can get a glimpse into how He would approach the subject by recalling His interaction with the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Scripture reference John 8:3-11

As the story goes, a group of men brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the very act of adultery. According to the Law, she was to be stoned to death. They were hoping however that Jesus would do something contrary to the Law so that they might have an accusation against him, thus giving the religious rulers just cause to eradicate him.

The story takes a very unexpected turn however when Jesus looks at the woman’s accusers and says to them “he that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone”. Their arrogant hearts condemned, as none of them were without sin; one by one they walk away. Can’t you just hear the stones dropping to the ground?

Jesus then looks to the woman and asks where her accusers are, to which she responds that there are none. Jesus then uttered what had to be the most gracious words this woman had ever heard. Deserving of death for her sins, Jesus tells her that neither does he condemn her, and to go and sin no more. Emphasis mine

This is how I see Jesus responding to the abortion issue. Notice that Jesus did not excuse the adulterous woman’s sins, but rather he acknowledged them for what they were, yet offered forgiveness instead of condemnation.

Jesus was much more concerned with forgiveness than punishment. Do you know why that was? It was because Jesus came to reconcile people to God. He could have delivered this woman to be stoned, but instead He offered her reconciliation! How amazing is that?

All of us have done things worthy of punishment, or worse. Some of us, like the adulterous woman, have committed sins worthy of death. Yet God, through His Son Jesus Christ, has chosen instead to forgive our sins and offer to us the gift of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Does this give us a “free pass” so that we can do whatever we want to do without consequence? Of course not. No one gets a free pass. We must repent of our sin and turn to Jesus.

‘‘He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation”. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19. ESV

The Church has been entrusted with this message of reconciliation. We were not entrusted with a hammer of condemnation. Neither were we entrusted with the gavel of judgement.

Our ministry, our very purpose, is to extend mercy and reconciliation to a lost world that gropes in darkness. We can serve no higher purpose here on earth than to represent Jesus Christ in meekness and love to those left devastated and wounded by the poor choices they have made.

That we have made.

This world doesn’t need another argument for or against abortion. It needs the people of God to stand in the gap and offer comfort and hope to those who are struggling with issues that are bigger than they are. The world needs to see Jesus.

“It would be rather nice if we lived in a world where everyone’s beliefs came true for them. The Christians would go to heaven, the Muslims to paradise, the Buddhists and Hindus would achieve nirvana, and the atheists would have a peaceful rest. Unfortunately, that’s all wishful thinking. We don’t know what’s true or not…” Comment taken from an article published on http://www.religioustolerance.org/li_01.htm. Author Grace Li.

Unfortunately, this statement is not uncommon to hear in today’s era of “religious tolerance and enlightenment”. The idea that “we don’t know what’s true or not” is prevalent throughout the world, giving billions the “out” they are looking for in their vain attempt to hide from the One true God.

Even more unfortunate, however, is the fact that this is a lie, on par with one of the greatest lies ever told. When Satan told Eve that if she ate of the forbidden fruit she would not die, it birthed doubt into her heart that perhaps what God had said was not really true after all. Therefore if what God said then wasn’t true, it must be OK for mankind to figure it out on his own by making his own choices.

That worked out real well for Eve, didn’t it?

Fortunately for all of mankind, the response to those who subscribe to the errant belief that “we don’t know what’s true or not” was given two thousand years ago when Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, spoke these words:

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 NKJV

This declaration however, does not set well with those who want to be free to create or choose their own pathway to a personal paradise. It is rejected by those who refuse to humble themselves and repent of their sins.

None of which changes one thing that Jesus said. This is yet another stumbling block to the unbeliever. The fact that unbelievers reject the word of God changes nothing, because the truth is that our opinions do not matter. What matters is TRUTH, and the word of God is TRUTH. Reject it or accept it…it is still TRUTH.

Popular authors and TV hosts alike all offer differing opinions about how to get to God, or how to reach their version of “paradise”. Talk show hosts like Oprah, for example, argue that Jesus is not the only way to God, as seen in this YouTube video.

What Oprah and her millions of followers fail to understand however is that since the Garden of Eden, men have claimed to have stumbled upon “another” path to enlightenment. Her views, as well as all others that are in opposition to the Bible, are nothing new. They are simply wrapped in a more deceptive, easier on the ears package that appeals to the flesh.

Looking for God…in all the wrong places.

The words of Jesus that declare Him to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life, are offensive to the world, of this there can be no doubt. How dare anyone lay sole claim to be the only way! This reeks of arrogance to the unregenerate, who wrongly believe everyone is free to worship or believe anything they wish.

This is, in a nutshell, one of the reasons why there are so many false religions in the world today. To believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God removes man from the equation. It renders man’s efforts useless, and man cannot accept the fact that he is not in control of his eternal destiny.

Man’s answer therefore, is to create his own religious belief system that fits into HIS values, beliefs, and ideas. How’s that working out for mankind anyway?

You see, Jesus Christ basically declared for all eternity that He didn’t need our help. He did it by Himself by fulfilling God’s plan of redemption for mankind. Thus, He can truthfully say that He is the Way, He is the Truth, and He is the Life.

There is no other way. There is no other truth. There is no other life.

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you no doubt are aware that there is a total solar eclipse coming to most of North America next Monday, August 21st.

While these events are special and very interesting to watch, I am always amazed at the number of prophecy prognosticators who use these NORMAL events to announce that the world is coming to an end.

I mean, seriously? Are Christians so illiterate concerning the scriptures that they actually believe that these NORMAL events are a sign of the end? Or am I in the minority in thinking this way? After all, we already know when these NORMAL events are going to occur for the next ten years!

Some prophecy “experts” are claiming that the coming eclipse is a warning of God’s impending judgement. In light of that, here’s a question for those that believe this. Do we in America need to see a solar eclipse as proof of God’s impending judgement upon us? Are we saying that unless the stars and moon align perfectly we will not believe that we need to repent? Is that what we’re saying?

What a shame, if indeed that is the case. The last time I checked, the Bible included many such warnings to repent and turn back to God. That’s right, it’s written in books like Matthew, Luke, Daniel, Ezekiel, 1st and 2nd Timothy, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians…..

Maybe if instead of hyping these NORMAL events as a sign of impending doom,what should happen is the prophecy seekers get out of the sun and into the Son.

One thing’s for certain: we can stare at the sun, the moon, and the stars until we’re blinded by it all. Meanwhile, back here on earth society is crumbling before our very eyes.

Won’t be if you are popular or not,an introvert or extrovert. Whether rich or poor, conservative or liberal, none of these will be an issue. If you are Baptist or Catholic, Quaker or Pentecostal, religious affiliations won’t be the deciding factor in where we spend eternity.

None of these things that we place so much importance on will matter when the trump of God sounds.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. I Thess. 4:16

No, the only thing that will matter will be our relationship with this One who will descend from heaven with a shout. And He will not be interested in our family tree or whether or not we threw a dollar into the red kettle at Christmas.

The church has been proclaiming for nearly two thousand years that Jesus Christ is coming to earth again. And just as Peter prophesied would happen, there are fewer and fewer who believe this is true.

“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” II Peter 3:3-4

When that day finally does come, He will be coming to gather His children from the four corners of the earth. He’s not coming back for Republican or Democratic Christians. He’s not even coming back for Liberal or Conservative Christians.

The words of the sweet Psalmist of Israel, King David, as he acknowledges his sin with another man’s wife,the murder of her husband,and his futile attempts to cover it up.If only David could have seen into the future,perhaps a vision of what was to come would have convinced him to keep his eyes from wandering.

Every time I read this verse I am reminded of how weak this earthly tabernacle

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is. In an instant we can go from the highest highs to the lowest lows,all because we decide to yield to a voice that calls us to do the unthinkable. It humbles me to think that if the King of Israel could do it,I know I could as well.

And so could you.

David’s entire being was affected by what he had done. His relationship with God was severed,the joy of the Lord had departed him, and he was left alone to reflect upon the magnitude of his error.I cannot imagine how his soul must have been tormented!

Think about this for a moment.This wasn’t just another King of Israel.This was David.The shepherd boy anointed to be King.A ma

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n after God’s own heart. Chosen of God,anointed King of Israel,feared by his enemies and adored by his subjects.Legendary giant killer and warrior without equal.

If ever the phrase”how the mighty have fallen”fit a man,it was David.Here was the man who literally “had it all”. This was God’s chosen one to replace a king that had forsaken the Lord.David was to “right the ship”in Israel.Yet for all of this,it wasn’t enough to keep his feet from wandering.

Surely David must have asked himself a thousand times if the momentary pleasure of sin was worth it.How could it have been,when his momentary lapse of judgement led to the rest of his life being one of sorrow and turmoil?

David’s sin led to lies and deception that culminated in Uriah’s death. And what of the child conceived from this rendezvous with the beautiful Bathsheba? Despite his fasting and praying before God night and day, the child born of his adulterous union became sick and died.Unfortunately for David,his sin also mightily impacted his other children as well.

David’s beautiful daughter Tamar was raped by her brother Amnon, who in a revengeful rage killed Absalom, who in turn was slain by Joab.Think of it,the King’s family destroyed by the sins of their father.And for what?

In his despair and brokenness,David came to the realization that the high price of sin was more than even he could bear.He soon learned that being King not only has it’s rewards,but also it’s share of heartache. All that was left for him to do was to throw himself upon the mercies of God.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

How gracious is our Father to forgive us when we come to Him with a broken spirit. David did not offer to God mere lip service, but rather a broken heart and a contrite spirit.David wasn’t just sorry because he was found out.No,David was truly sorrowful of heart and soul.This beloved,is true repentance.

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For certain,if we attempt to cover up and hide our sins,God will reveal them in His time.Fortunately for all of us,if we expose them to God He will cover them with His mercy.

As we come to the end of another year many of us will be spending time reflecting on the year’s past achievements and disappointments.Maybe there are some things you need to take to God? Maybe there are some things haunting you,just as they did David.

I want you to know that mistakes don’t have to ruin your life,nor should they define who you are.David could have used a friend to remind him of that,couldn’t he? Perhaps you could too?

May I encourage you to do as David did and simply turn to the Lord and ask His forgiveness for your sin? If you will do this, you will find as David did that our Lord is a restorer of the broken.He is the heart-mender after all.